Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew departed today, Thursday, October 20, 2022, from the Phanar, for an official visit to Great Britain, in order to attend, at the invitation of Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, the celebrations for the centenary of the founding of the Holy Archdiocese.
As part of his visit, the Ecumenical Patriarch will have a meeting with His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom at Buckingham Palace.
Tomorrow morning, a Doxology will be held at the Church of All Saints in London on the occasion of the arrival of the Ecumenical Patriarch, while in the afternoon he will preside over the Great Vespers at the Church of Saint Nektarios in Battersea, where he will then inaugurate the liturgy of the Fellowship Soup kitchen.
On Saturday, October 22, in the morning, the Ecumenical Patriarch will preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex. In the afternoon of the same day, he will preside over the Great Vespers at the Church of St. Demetrios in Edmonton. He will then attend a dinner with representatives of the youth of the Holy Archdiocese.
On Sunday, the Ecumenical Patriarch will preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Bayswater, London, while in the afternoon he will attend the Vespers Service at the Holy Cathedral of St. James, Church of England.
During his stay in Great Britain, the Patriarch will meet with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State, responsible for the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the United Nations.
He will also visit the Church of All Saints in Hertfordshire, where he will bless the beginning of its public benefit activities, will meet with Christian leaders of London, as well as with the Ambassadors of the Hellenic Republic Ioannis Raptakis and the Turkish Republic Umit Yalcin.
The Patriarchal entourage consists of Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Archbishop Aetios of the Church of Belgium, Director of the Private Patriarchal Office, Defterevon Alexander, Bookkeeper of the Patriarchate, Archimandrite Agathangelos, Nikolaos Papachristou, Director of the Press and Communication Office of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and Panagiotis Grafiadelis, Patriarchal Officer.
Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi was appointed Deputy of the Patriarch, who accompanied him to the City Airport, along with Protosyncellos Theodore.
